A blog about the Iraqi cuisine from ancient Mesopotamian times to the present, by Nawal Nasrallah, author of Delights from the Garden of Eden, 2003. A new fully revised edition is released (UK: Equinox Publishing, 2013), with more than 300 splendid images of dishes, art, history and culture.
TLS (Nov 1, 2013) said about it:
"A splendid achievement…obviously a labor of love … an impressive book. Each page shows erudition, every recipe a passion for food."
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Saturday, May 18, 2013

Not Your Typical 'Native Tongue'

An Iraqi Sandwich

سندويج لسان

If you like what you see, read on:

Brace
yourself for what I am going to say:

This is a beef-tongue sandwich!

If
you are still there, you must either be a fan of the tongue sandwich, like myself,
or a brave soul, hungry for the unknown. I
know there are people who would be intimidated or even grossed out at the
prospect of eating a tongue sandwich, but this shouldn't be. In fact, after
cooking it, peeling off the thick skin, and trimming it, it looks as benign as a
tender loin; an exquisite muscle meat, high in protein, and even tenderer and more
flavorful and aromatic than any other pot roast you could ever lay your hands
on to stuff your sandwiches with.

Growing
up in Baghdad, cold tongue sandwiches were the kind of snack food you would usually buy
from carry-out shops or the snack bars of movie theaters Condiments were
kept to the minimum, just a few olives and some slices of pickled cucumber. We
were able to enjoy more of these sandwiches when my mother learnt the best way
to cook the tongue. The secret she learnt from one of our neighbors was to
tenderize the tongue before cooking it. How? By beating it hard several times,
as I will show you in the recipe.

Sandaweech Lisan (Beef-tongue Sandwich) from my cookbook Delights from the Garden of Eden:

1
teaspoon salt1. Beat the tongue on a hard surface several times until it looks limp and a little longer. This is done to break the muscles. Wash it very well, rub it with salt and flour, and wash it again. Mix marinade ingredients in a glass bowl, and let tongue stay in it, a few hours to overnight.

Beef tongue before beating it

Beef tongue after beating it

2.
Put the tongue in a deep big pot (such as a stock pot) with marinade, and rest
of ingredients except for salt. Add cold water enough to well cover it. Bring
to a quick boil, skimming as needed. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer,
covered, until it feels tender when pierced with a fork, about 2 hours. Add
salt about 10 minutes before it is done.

5.
Take the tongue out of the liquid, and let it cool completely. Peel off skin
and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. With a thin sharp knife cut it into thin
slices and make into sandwiches, with salad vegetables, pickles, and olives.

About Me

I am an independent Iraqi scholar, passionate about cooking and its history and culture, an award-winning researcher and food writer. The first edition of my cookbook Delights from the Garden of Eden: A Cookbook and a History of the Iraqi Cuisine (2003) is winner of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards,. It is now released in a new revised edition, elegantly styled and generously illustrated with color photos (Equinox Publishing, UK). My book Dates: A Global History (Edible Series, Reaktion Books) was released in April 2011. A charming account of the date palm and its fruit, informative and fun to read. My English translation of Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq's 10th-century Baghdadi cookbook Kitab al-Tabikh, entitled Annals of the Caliphs' Kitchens (Brill, 2007), was awarded "Best Translation in the World" and "Best of the Best of the Past 12 Years" of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2007. It also received Honorable Mention in 2007 Arab American National Museum Book Awards. I co-authored Beginner's Iraqi Arabic, with 2 audio CDs (Hippocrene,2005) I have been giving cooking classes and presentations on the Iraqi cuisine. Visit my website www.iraqicookbook.